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CUBAN INDEPENDENCE. 



SPEECH 






HON. WrO. VINCENT, 

OF KANSAS, 



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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1898. 



WJVSHINGTOM. 
1898. 



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SPEECH 

HON. Vi. D. VINCENT, 



On tlio majority and minority reports of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
on tlie joiiit resolution authorizing iutervontiou in Cuban affairs. 

Mr. VINCEx^T said: 

Mr. Speaker: The question that has been uppermost in the 
minds of the American people for many weeks past is this: Will the 
President and the Congress of the United States have the courage 
and the patriotism to give Cuba the freedom and independence 
she has long since proven herself entitled to? The members of 
this House and the country waited long and patiently for the 
President's message— a document wdiich was said to be so radical 
and outspoken in behalf of Cuban liberty that its publication to 
the world was likely to excite a riot in Havana and cause the 

O' shedding of more American blood. 

^ The message was delayed day after day— from Monday imtil 
. Wednesday, and from Wednesday until Monday again— to enable 
■^ General Lee and other Americans to flee from the Spanish wrath 
that was to follow its publication. At last that firey document, 
which we were promised would carry consternation to the Queen 
Regent and her bloody butchers upon the island, was placed be- 
fore us. If it contained any language that was calculated to ex- 
cite the Spanish or give great hope to the struggling Cubans, I 
am imable to recall what it Avas. It reads almost like an apology. 
Instead of declaring that Cuba must be free, the President re- 
quests Congress to grant him power to intervene and stop the 
war; and, in effect, Mr. Speaker, suggests that it may be neces- 
sary to turn our guns upon the Cuban army to accomplish the de- 
sired result. He certainly is opposed to independence, though 
upon this feature of the message there is great diversity of opinion. 
The members of this House spent several hours in a discussion 
of the question. What did the President mean? The only answer 
that can be found in the message is the statement that the Presi- 
dent desires to take measures "to secxire in the island the estab- 
lishment of a stable government." Attention has already been 
called to the fact that there is a vast difference between a stable 
government and an independent government. Canada has a stable 
government, but no one will pretend to claim that it is independ- 
ent. Nowhere does the President say he is in favor of an inde- 
pendent government for Cuba. Why does he leave us to guess at 
his meaning? Why does he not say independence if that is what he 
means? The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that this message, like certain 
political platforms, means anything or nothing. It means either, 
3:J81 3 



both, or neither, and its author has kindly permitted us to take our 
choice. 
But what does the President mean when he says this: 

Nor from the standpoint of expediency do I think it would be wise or pru- 
i^ent for this Government to recognize at the present time the independence 
«f the so-called Cuban Republic. 

What does this mean? Does it mean Cuban independence? Do 
the President's friends still insist that he is for independence, in 
the face of his declaration that it would be both unwise and im- 
prudent? His friends on this floor, it seems to me, are doing him 
an injustice when they insist that he means the very opposite to 
what he saj's. 

Mr. Speaker, whatever may have been the mistakes of the Ad- 
ministration in the past, we are now confronted with conditions 
which demand united and patriotic action. This House has 
already demonstrated by a unanimous vote that when our coun- 
try is confronted by a foreign foe there are no divisions among 
ns. In a crisis like the present one there should be no North, no 
South, no East, no West. There should be no Republicans, 
Democrats, or Populists, but we should all be Americans. Upon 
an issue of this kind not only the American Congress, but the 
American people stand almost as one man for our country, first, 
last, and all the time. They believe, as some one has said, that 
the mission of America is to foster liberty and drive despotism 
from this continent. 

Mr. Speaker, every thoughtful man must shudder when be 
realizes that we are perhaps on the verge of what may prove to 
be a long and bloody conflict, but no true patriot is ready to raise 
his voice for peace at any price. There are some things worse 
even than death, and war means death to nobody knows how 
many of the best, brightest, and bravest of our citizens. War is 
an expensive way to settle difficulties, and should be resorted to 
as a last recourse. Disputes and differences between humane, 
God-fearing people ordinarily can best be settled by arbitration 
and mutual concessions, but how are we to arbitrate or reason 
with a nation that would tolerate a brutal butcher like Weyler 
and purposely starve thoxisands of its own innocent women and 
childi-en to death? 

The great destruction to life and property that must necessarily 
come as a result of war are not the only evils to be considered. 
Judging the future by the past, it is safe to say that the opportu- 
nity will be seized uiwn by those who manipulate our finances to 
issue more interest-bearing bonds. I predict that before the con- 
flict has been going on two weeks the money lords of the nation 
will find some member of this House ready to serve them by in- 
troducing a bill for that purpose, and I shall be surprised if it 
fails to receive the votes of the majority. The war will give the 
agents of Shylock an excuse to do that which they dare not do in 
time of peace, and it will only be a repetition of history if they 
take advantage of the excitement and patriotism of the people to 
continue and increase the legalized robbery that has been going 
on since the war of the rebellion. 

If those who deal in dollars fail to fleece one side or the other, 
or both, it will be their first failure. What they may lose on 
Spanish bonds they will try to make up by controlling the finances 
of our own Government. But I warn you that the American peo- 
ple have outgrown the idea that "a national debt is a national 

3381 



blessing." They know more about financial legislation and the 
effect of interest-bearing bonds that they did a few years ago, and 
if I am not mistaken they will be as bold to repudiate the political 
party that attempts to fasten perpetual debt upon them as they 
are now determined that Cuba shall have her independence. 
They are ready, as they have always been, to shed their blood for 
the cause of liberty and to perpetuate the spirit of '76, but they 
will not continue to tolerate and indorse legalized crime because 
it is perpetrated under the guise of " patriotism "' and " national 
honor." 

The United States is able to whip Spain and a dozen more such 
nations one after the other in quick succession without issuing 
one dollar of bonds. It can be done quicker and with less expense 
without bonds than with them. That nation which is unable to 
fight a successful war without fastening upon its people an interest- 
bearing debt is already whipped to start v/ith. It may be true 
that no great nation has been successful in war that did not issue 
bonds, but it is also true that no great nation was ever whipped 
that did not do the same thing, and invariably the country that 
was conquered was the one that contracted the larger war debt 
as compared with its ability to pay. 

It is a well-known fact that the war Of the rebellion was pro- 
longed as a result of the manipulations of the speculators who in- 
vested in bonds. While the boys in blue were baring their breasts 
to the enemy in a heroic struggle to save the Union for $13 a 
month, the bond sharks were speculating upon their necessities 
and the necessities of the Government. At one time President 
Lincoln was so exasperated by their greedy and unpatriotic actions 
that he declared tliey ought to have their " devilish heads shot 
off." 

If war comes, this same class of speculators will be strictly iu 
evidence; in fact, they are in evidence now, and instead of con- 
sulting their wishes and acceding to their demands they should 
be classed with those who are responsible for the blowing up of 
the Maine. 

Mr. Speaker. I am one of the many millions of people in this 
country who believe that war might have been averted if two 
years ago or one year ago, or even six months ago, Cuban inde- 
pendence or belligerent rights had been acknowledged by the Gov- 
ernment of the United States. That would have placed the Cuban 
patriots upon an equality with Spain in their right to purchase 
munitions of war. It would have given Cuba a commercial 
standing that she has not been able to obtain without it. If this 
had been done, the hundreds of thousands who have starved to 
death upon the island as a result of Spanish brutality would to- 
day be living, and the brave seamen who met their untimely death 
on the battle ship Maine would have been spared. 

All during the extra session and during the present session the 
minority in this House have used every effort to introduce and 
pass a resolution for Cuban recognition, but the Speaker has al- 
ways found it convenient to rule them out of order. During the 
four months of the extra session when the most laborious part of 
the proceedings of this House was the Chaplain's prayer and vot- 
ing upon motions to adjourn for three da3's at a time, we were 
not even granted the privilege of discussing the Cuban question. 

I remember when the distinguished gentleman from Arkansas 
[Judge Terry] stood upon his feet and shouted, "'Mr. Speaker," 
3281 



6 

over and over again in the attempt to gain recognition for the pur- 
pose of introducing a Cuban resolution, but he was utterly ignored 
by the Speaker, who calmy replied by saying, "1 recognize the 
gentleman from Maine [Mr. Dingley]." The gentleman from 
Maine, who was at that time calmly reposing in his seat with his 
hands clasped behind his head gazing at the ceiling immediately 
arose and moved to adjourn. It is needless to say the motion 
carried. That was the manner in which the majority on this 
floor yearned to aid the struggling Cuban patriots during the 
extra session, and, up to a very recent date there has been no 
change in their policy, if indeed their actions are entitled to be 
dignified by the name policy. " 

Recognition at that time meant freedom for Cuba without war. 
To-day, perhaps, it is too late. Instead of doing that which O'J 
per cent of the American people wanted done and that which 
every political party promised should be done, we have been using 
oiar naval forces to guard our coasts so that supplies and muni- 
tions of war might not be transported to the Cuban army. Paj'- 
ing out the hard-earned dollars, Mr. Speaker, Avrung from the 
taxpayers of this country to assist Spain in completing the con- 
quest of Cuba. 

Every proposition that has been proposed by those who seem to 
hold the destiny of Cuba in their power has carried with it the 
issuing of Cuban bonds. Not satisfied with the awful starvation 
and cruel barbarities that have been inflicted upon the inhabitants 
of that unhappy island, and for which we are largely responsible, 
the attempt has been made to compel Cuba to buy her freedom — 
to pay Spain the money she has spent in the cruel effort to com- 
pletely annihilate her people. And then it was proposed by the 
majority in this House, as a last resort, that there should be inter- 
vention without independence. What does this mean? If it 
means anything, it means that Cuba shall yet buy her freedom by 
issuing bonds. It means that Cuban patriots must exchange mas- 
ters, that instead of their present bondage to Spain they must be- 
come the slaves of the money lords of both Spain and the United 
States. Like the Saviour of the world, they are to be persecuted 
between two sets of thieves. 

Mr. Speaker, this may be an inopportune time to discuss these 
matters and to criticise the actions or inaction of the President, 
but it is the first opportunitj' I have had. I would like to have 
said these things long ago, not only because they are true, but 
because I believe I voice the sentiments of a great majority of 
the people I have the honor to represent. I would not impugn 
the President's motives, but it is a humiliating fact that nobody 
has been able to give a satisfactory explanation for all this delay. 
I still have confidence in the President's honesty if he were per- 
mitted to carry out the dictates of his own conscience and judg- 
ment, but I believe he is in the power of advisers whose loyalty to 
the dollar exceeds their loyalty to the flag of our country. He is 
surrouiuled by a class of men who would mortgage the nation's 
honor and unborn generations to satisfy their greed for gold. 

Mr. Speaker, if there is cause for intervention, there is still 
greater cause for independence. Every reason given by the Presi • 
dent why our Government should interfere will apply with greater 
force upon the side of independence. In his message he suggests 
what he is pleased to call a "rational compromise." The onlj' 
rational compromise, Mr. Speaker, at this late day is absolute, 



unconditional, and immediate independence for Cuba. That is the 
only compromise that will meet the demands of justice and the 
wishes of the people of this country. 

Let the members of this House unite, as we did in appropriating 
the $50,000,000, in a unanimous vote for the Senate resolution, 
and thus demonstrate to the world that we hold patriotism above 
party, that there are no divisions among us upon the subject of 
Cuban independence, and that the infamous Spanish combination 
of brutality and incapacity shall forever cease upon the island. 
And last, but not least, let us remember the Maine, 

3381 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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